Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1887-07-30
SERMONS OF THE FUTURE.
REV. DR.. rALMAGE SAYS THEY
WILL BE SHORT.

REV. DR.. TALMAGE SAYS THEY
WILL BE SHORT.
Condemnation Demanded by tho Age.
The Coming Discourse Will Abound
In Instances Of vlcarIous Suffering
Taken from Everyday Life.
The HAMrToNs, July A.-The Rev. T. De-
Witt Tahnage's subject this morning was;
"Prcaching, Teaching and Elaboration" and
his text: Romans xii, Z, S-"Or ministry, let
us wait on our ministering; or he TINT
teaches, on teaching; OF lie that exhorteth, OH
exbortation."
Before the world is converted tho style of
religious discourse will have to be converted.
You might as we'll go into the modern Sedan
or Gettysburg with bows and arrows, Instead
of rifles and bombshells and parks of artil-
lery, as to expect to conquer this world for
God by the old styleso of eXhortation and scr
lnonolugy Jonathan Edwards preached the
sermons most adapted to the age in Which be
lived, but if those sermons were preached
now they would divide an audience into two
classes, those sound asleep and those wanting
to go homo.
But there is religious discourse Of the
future-who will preach it have no idea IN
what part Of the earth it will DO born I have
no idea, in which denominations of Chris
tia,s it will be delivered cannot guess.
That discourse or exhortation may I've born in
iil the country meeting house on tho banks of
the St Lawrence, or the Oregon, or the
Ohio, or the Tomhiebeo, or the Alabama.
Tho person who shall deliver it may this
moment he in cradle under the shadow OF
the Sierra Nevadas, or in New England
furm house, or amid the rice folds Of south
ern savannas Or this moment there may be
some young man in some Of our theological
Summaries, In tho junior or middle or senior
class, shaping that weapon of power. Or
there may be coming some new baptism OF
the Holy Ghost OH the churches, SO that some
Of us who now stand in tho watch towers OF
Zion waking to a realization Of our present
inoficiency, may preach it ourselves. That
coming discourse may not be fifty years off.
And let Us pray God that its arrival may be
FASTENED. while announce to you what
think will DO the chief characteristics of that
discourse or exhortation when IL docs arrive,
and want to make tho remarks Of the morn
ing appropriate and suggestive to ull classes
of Christian workers.
First Of all remark that future religious
discourse will be full Of 6 living Christ i'll con-
tradistinction TO didactic technicalities. A
discourse may DO full OF Christ, though hardly
mentioning his name, and sermon may DO
empty of Christ while every sentence is repe-
titious Of his titles Tho world wants liv-
Ing Christ, not Christ standing ut the head
of u formnl system Of theology, but Christ
who means pardon and sympathy, and con-
doloncc, and brotherhood, anu life, and
heaven. A poor mans Christ. A rich mans
Christ An ovcrworked mans Christ. An
invalii,s Christ a farmers Christ. Amer
chants Christ An artisans Christ. An
every mons Christ
& symmetrical and 1ne worded system Of
theology is vol enough for theological classes,
havo tho technical phrases of an anatomist or
psychologist or physician in the sick room
of patient. Tho world wants help, immedi-
etc and world uplifting, and it will come
through discourse In which Christ shall
walk right down into tho immortal soul and
take everlasting possession of it, filling it us
full of light Us is this monday armament
That sermon or exhortation Of the future
will not deal with men in the threadbare
Illustrations Of Jesus Christ In that coming
address there will DO Instances of vicarious
suffering taken right out of everyday life, for
there is not day somebody is not dying for
others. AS tho physician saving his diph-
tleritic patient by sacrificing his own life;
es the ship captain going down with his YES
sci whilo lie is getting his passengers into the
life boat; os tho fireman consuming in the
burning building while he is taking child
out of fourth story window; as in summer
the strong swimmer ct East Hampton, or
Long Branch, or Cape May, or Lake George,
himself persisted trying to rescue tho drown
ing; as tho newspaper boy one summer,
supporting bis mother for some years, his
invalid mother, when offered by gentleman
fifty cents to got some especial paper, and be
got it, and rushed up in his anxiety to deliver
It, and was crushed under the wheels OF the
train, and lay on the grass with only strength
enough TO say: "Oh, what will become Of my
poor sick mother nowF
Vicarious suffering. Tho world is full of
It. An engineer said to me on locomotive
in Dakota: "We mon seem to be coming to
better appreciation than we used to. Did you
see that account tho other day Of an engineer
who to save his passengers stuck to his place,
and when ho was found dead in the locomo-
tive, which was upside down, he was found
still smiling, with bis hand on the air brakc9'
And as tho engineer soid it to me, lie put bis
Land on the air brake TO illustrate his mean
snc. and looked ut him and thought: "You
would 10 Just as much of hero in the same
crisis"
Oh, in that religious discourse Of the future
there will be living illustrations taken out
from every day life of vicarious suffering
illustrations TINT will bring to mind the
chnstIier sacrifice Of Him who, in tho high
places OF the field. on the cross, fought our
battles, and wept our griefs, aud endured our
struggle, and died our death.
A German sculptor made IN image Of
Christ, and he asked bis little child 2 years
old who il was, and she said: THAT must be
some very great man" The sculptor was dis
pleased with the criticism, so he got another
block Of marble, and. chiseled away on it two
or three years, and then he brought i'll bis
little child, or S years Of age, and he said to
her: "Who do you think TINT is!" She said:
"rhat must be the One who took little Children
in his arms and blessed them" Then the
sculptor was satisfied. Oh, my friends, what
the world wants is not cold Christ, lot an
intellectual Christ, not severely niagsterial
Christ, but a loving Christ, spreading out his
army of sympathy to press tine whole world
TO his loving heart.
But, remark again, that the religious dis
course Of the future will be short Conden-
seton is demanded by the age in which we
live. No more need of long introductions
and long applications, and SO many divisions
to b discourse that it may DO said to he n.y.
draheaded. In other days men got all their
Information from the pulpit There were
few books and there were no newspapers, and
there was little travel from place to place,
and people would stand listen two and half
hours at religious discourse, aud seven
teenthlyn would find them fresh and clipper.
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